Dear Debbie. . .

A 1960s Look?

Dear Debbie,

I hope you can guide me. I took a picture of a friend and I want to make it look like it was taken in the sixties. We did a good job with the makeup and clothing but the picture look obviously like it was taken today. How can I make it seem older?

Thank you so much,
Lost in time

A Spotty Problem

Dear Debbie,

I have a portrait of someone with a real blemish issue, and I need to make her skin clear. I'm using Adobe Photoshop Elements, and the only way that I can see to fix blemishes is to use the Spot Healing Brush. Can you suggest something faster? I'll get carpel tunnel if I have to remove each and every spot this way.

Signed,
Impatient Retoucher, Alto, Michigan

Why Can't I Tone My Blacks?

Dear Debbie,

I have always been a fan of Ansel Adams and I learned that he sometimes used selenium toner to get the cold blue-blacks in his images.  I have tried using Photoshop CS2 with some tone applied as your article in the November issue shows, but I can't seem to get the blue cast into solid black areas.  I use a Canon Pixma 5000 with 4 ink cartridges.  Is there a 3rd party black ink that might help, or some other solution?

Signed,
Black and Blue in Cold Spring, KY

The Zapless Pic

Dear Debbie,

Hope you can answer my question, because I can't get anyone else to! I have a Canon Digital SLR, and my pics look good, but they don't have that clear, almost perfect "zap." What is that zap, and how do I achieve it? Can I get it with Photoshop?

Thanks so much,
Zapless Photos